| Index of coverage | Top Ten 1. Teradyne Inc. 2. Analog Devices Inc. 3. LTX Corp. 4. EMC Corp. 5. Helix Tech. Corp. 6. ACT Manufacturing 7. Millipore Corp. 8. Talbots Inc. 9. Cytyc Corp. 10. FleetBoston Year's Best Company of year Highest Market Value Fastest Growth Biggest Stock Gain Comeback of the Year Highest Sales Contents Overall performance Banking Biotech Growth   1. ACT Manuf.   2. Provant Inc.   3. Analog Devices   4. Sapient Corp.   5. Foilmark Inc. Bulls and Bears   Bulls   1. J. Jill Group   2. Inverness Medical   3. Reebok Intl.   4. Bostonfed Bancorp   5. John Hancock   Bears   1. Aztec Tech.   2. Engage Inc.   3. CMGI Inc.   4. Telaxis Comm.   5. NaviSite Inc. Employment IPOs Profitability Sales The Globe 100 Market value 100 Sales 100 Return on equity 100 Growth 50 Highest leveraged Top employers Most productive Industry summary Biggest profits Biggest losses The Bulls The Bears Top profit margins Debt-free companies Street's darlings Street's wallflowers 2000 Mass. IPOs Recoveries Nose Dives All the charts for this year's Globe 100    | 2000 Globe 100 | Search the Globe: Today Yesterday

4. BOSTONFED BANCORP Acquisition pays off for bank 5/22/2001     BEARS & BULLS Old economy companies led Bay State Bulls The shining lights of the local investment world were companies that sell sneakers, blood tests, clothes for middle-age women, and life insurance. Continued THE BULLS 1. J. Jill Group 2. Inverness Medical Tech. 3. Reebok Intl. 4. Bostonfed Bancorp 5. John Hancock Financial THE BEARS 1. Aztec Tech. Partners 2. Engage Inc. 3. CMGI Inc. 4. Telaxis Communications 5. NaviSite Inc. The Bulls The Bears All the charts he stars all lined up last year for Bostonfed Bancorp, helping the Burlington company to achieve record earnings and solid stock-market gains. Bostonfed was a beneficiary of wider market conditions, for one thing. In a year when the major market indexes took a beating, bank stocks fared relatively well. But the biggest reasons behind Bostonfed's boom times were more specific. Like many smaller banks in the region, Bostonfed picked up deposit and loan dollars from unhappy customers following the mergers of Fleet and BankBoston, on one hand, and Citizens and USTrust, on the other. The late 1999 acquisition of Northboro-based Forward Financial Co. also paid off last year for Bostonfed. The acquired company, which originates loans for manufactured homes, added more to BostonFed's bottom line than had been expected. ''We had a good year all around,'' said chief executive David Holland. ''The acquisition certainly spurred earnings.'' Whatever drove earnings, Wall Street took notice. In the 12 months through March 31, BostonFed's stock price more than doubled, from $11 a share to more than $23. Bostonfed, a holding company, operates two banks: Boston Federal Savings Bank and Broadway National Bank. Combined, the banks have 11 branch offices. SCOTT BERNARD NELSON

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